Is it considered a normal thing for a dentist to give a 15 year old with a badly abscessed tooth two penicillin shots in her hips after completing an emergency root canal? I was not aware that dentists normally gave any other types of injections, only the ones to make your mouth numb before working on you. My daughter seemed surprised, and I have never heard of it before. The dental assistant was in the room with her at the time and my daughter says she doesn't think anything inappropriate took place. They said it was late in the evening, nearly 8PM and the local pharmacy would be closing so there was no way to get her a prescription filled for oral antibiotics before this morning. When I asked, they said they sometimes do penicillin shots after such work, especially if the patient is in pain and running a fever from the infection. They had her bend over the chair and lower her jeans and underpants, and gave one shot in each hip.
Antibiotic shots in hip after root canal for abscessed tooth?
- Thread starter LeeAnn
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MattKW
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I don't see a problem with it, although I just keep tablets on hand for this type of situation. A shot in the bum will work faster of course, and reach higher blood levels sooner. If this dentist does a lot of after-hours work, then it would seem a good idea. It's a lot more risky to inject in the mouth with blood vessels and nerves to contend with in the course of normal dentistry than a safe place like the bum.
Thank you, this is what was explained to me today by the dental assistant who was present when her shots were given. It was an after-hours situation as they normally close at 5:30 but didn't start working on her until after that time and it was almost 8 PM when they finished up. There would have been no way to get a prescription for oral antibiotics until this morning and with a fever of 102 degrees wanted her on the penicillin immediately.
MattKW
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Tetanus shots usually given in deltoid (arm) muscle, but possible in the bum. They "lowered" her jeans and underpants, which doesn't necessarily mean it was full show. Injections in the bum are in the upper and outer quadrant, so don't have to fully strip. And he had a staff member in the room (wisely). It would become odd if he only injected female patients.
I have had dozens of shots in my hips both as a child and adult, and always slipped my underpants down off my bottom when told that was where the shot was going, it just seems under the circumstances as not being any problem for me to so. I'm sure my daughter was thinking the same way, she has had quite a few shots there as well.
I asked my daughter how far she pulled her jeans and underpants down, and she said about halfway to her knees and she didn't see anything wrong with doing that, she made it clear to me that was her choice as they didn't tell her how far to take them down and she didn't see any reason to ask, she simply exposed her bottom since they had already explained that was where the shots would be going. Since she was facing the dental assistant and the dentist was standing behind her the whole time, he couldn't have seen anything other than her bare bottom. She tells me she is totally OK with that and doesn't consider her bottom as being a private area. I asked her to show me where the shots were given, the band aids they put on to cover them are halfway down on the outer side of each of her hips. Sounds OK to me and I have no further issues with it. We just didn't know that dentists could give shots in locations other than inside the mouth.
In the Uk it's unusual to give a shot there and they would put a paper sheet over the area to cover modesty. Most dentists would avoid it as they'd probably be worried about litigation these days. I'm sure all sorts of things happen in dental surgeries but this was a surprise!
Yes, it was a surprise but now we have learned that sometimes it's the most expedient treatment if oral antibiotics would not be available for many hours, overnight in this case. I've personally never been given a paper sheet for modesty when being given shots in my hips, perhaps they do things differently in your country. Here you would just pull your pants and underpants down for a minute while they gave the shots. The only time they use those modesty sheets in the medical doctors offices is when all your clothes are off for an examination. The nurse nearly always weighs me on the scale completely naked, then gives me the sheet to cover myself while waiting for the doctor to come into the room. It's been that way at several different doctors I have attended over the years. I don't think a dentist would even have a modesty sheet, but don't see any reason to use one for giving a quick shot if all that's exposed is the person's bottom.